I am stunned right down to my toes at the demeanor of Mr. Murtha! A Marine, a retired officer, has already tried and convicted these Marines for political gain in the court of public opinion and is obviously embarked on a campaign to push responsibility for the alleged crime (s) and alleged cover up as far up the chain of command that he can. To be quite frank, it makes me feel like knocking out his teeth! Mr. Murtha, should be protecting the constitutional rights of his brother Marines, of course that does not prevent him from discussing the incident with the caveat that nobody has been charged with anything yet. And yet, there he was, on national TV, almost screaming that the Marines are murderers and there was a cover up! It was a disgusting display of a total lack of loyalty to the institution he gave the best years of his life serving. I'm at a loss, did his espirit de corps really run so shallow all those years he served? Mr. Murtha should simply keep his big pie hole shut untill the investigation reaches a conclusion. If this allegation is substantiated, I have complete faith that the corps will ensure justice is done. Still, I can't help but feel sympathy for the Marines in question some perhaps, on their second deployment or more. The frustration of seeing their squad leader blown to pieces. According to a lance corporal in the same unit, the Marines went "blind with hate" and went on a killing spree. I don't know if the lance corporal was on the scene or was simply in the same unit. It doesn't look good for these poor grunts, but that does not change the fact, that one of their brothers, a former leader has thrown them under the bus before all the facts are in and I'm absolutely sick about it. I'm sick with sadness about the whole mess.